


Pink Outside The Box

by BluePearlLamentation



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, spinearl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21946360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluePearlLamentation/pseuds/BluePearlLamentation
Summary: Spinel discovers something interesting, and shares that information with Pink Pearl. With all the knowledge that she's gathered, Spinel sets off to make an unforgettable evening.
Relationships: Pink Diamond's Pearl/Spinel (Steven Universe)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 53





	Pink Outside The Box

Spinel adjusted the her bow tie with her hands, as her eyes darted between the warp pad and Steven.

“Don't worry Spinel, you got this!” Steven shot her a thumbs up. Spinel smiled in turn, but inside her nerves ripped through her like stones skipping on water.

“Is it normal to feel this... ya'know, like my throat's down in my chest?”

Steven nodded. “Yeah, that's normal.”

“Oh, well if it's normal.” Spinel shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She'd spent a few days around Beach City with Steven and met some of the people who lived in it. One day curiosity had gotten the better of Spinel – she found herself keen on learning more about human culture. Of all the various rites and rituals she learned, one thing had caught her eye. Namely, because she felt she'd experienced it before.

She recalled the day that she ran to Steven, waving a book in her hand. “Steven! This thing you on Earth call... a date? What is it?”

“A date? Well, when someone likes someone else, they usually ask them out on a date. You're just hanging out with someone, but under the pretense you have feelings for each other. So it's a little more special than a regular old get together with friends.”

Spinel curled her lips a little, a balance between a smile and a surprised face. “And what sorts of things are different on a date?”

“Depends on how far along two people are, but, I guess stuff like holding hands, hugging a lot, sitting right up next to each other, looking into each others' eyes a whole bunch, those are the sorts of things people tend to do if they're more than friends.”

Spinel had asked him a few more questions, and then she felt certain of her conclusion.

She and Pink Pearl had been going on dates, and neither of them knew it!

After speaking to Steven, she talked to Garnet. And after speaking to Garnet, Garnet went off to speak to Pink Pearl. Spinel was too anxious to tell Pink Pearl in person what she discovered – that they had been partaking in the Earthling ritual of dating.

And so Garnet talked to Pink Pearl, and then Garnet talked to Spinel, and after a long game of back and forth with Garnet as their messenger, they arranged to go on their first date. Their first consciously-aware-of-it-being a date, that is.

Spinel stood at the bottom of the warp pad, having dressed up in a pair of jeans and a nice dress shirt adorned with a bow tie. Pearl had helped Spinel pick it out, although Spinel refused to get rid of her shoes. They might have looked mismatched when paired with the rest of her outfit, but she knew how much Pink Pearl loved the squeaks whenever she walked.

Suddenly, the warp pad shimmered as it hummed to life. It was no longer empty. Standing in the center of the pad was Pink Pearl. Unlike Spinel, she was dressed no differently whatsoever.

“Oh great maiden!” Spinel nearly shouted. “I am humbled to stand in your presence on this ravishing evening.” She walked forward, bowed her head, and reached out her hand towards Pink Pearl.

“Maybe tone it down a little,” Steven whispered. “That's a bit too old fashioned.”

Pink Pearl giggled and took Spinel's hand. Spinel raised her face; it was flushed red with embarrassment.

“Right, sorry.” She cleared her throat. “You're lookin' great, doll. I've been looking forward to this day.”

“As have I,” Pink Pearl said. “I like what you've done with yourself.” Pink Pearl stepped down so she stood side by side with Spinel.

“Gee, thanks. I picked it all out myself!” Spinel glanced at Steven who shook his head and grinned.

“Well, you two have fun. I've got some errands I gotta run. Spinel, you think you can find everything yourself?”

“Of course! Why, I remember everything ya told me about Beach City.”

“Right, good!” Steven headed towards the door. “Have fun you two.”

“So, I was told you had events planned out for us?”

“I sure as heck do, you can believe that. If you'd follow me, I'll be your trusty guide to our first destination.”

“It would be my pleasure!”

Spinel squeezed Pink Pearl's hand, and together they left Steven's house. Spinel led her around the outside of the cliff and onto the boardwalk. They walked for a few minutes and soon stopped in front of a building. “We're here!” Spinel announced.

Pink Pearl eyed the building, a smile on her face. “And what is this place?”

“I thought I'd introduce you to a thing that humans do. It's called eating!”

“Eating?”

Spinel nodded. “You put this stuff in your mouth and chew it up, and then ya swallow it. Humans gotta do it all the time to keep living. It's sorta like how we need sunlight, ya'know? But it gives you this wonderful sensation on your tongue that's just ta die for!”

“Ooh, we have to die for it?”

Spinel went wide-eyed for a moment and shook her head. “No no no, we're not going to try dying today. I'm not really sure how to do that so I'll have to touch base with Steven later. But saying you'll die for something is a human expression! I'm just saying, this here eating thing? It's a good experience.”

“Oh, I understand now.” Pink Pearl nodded. “How do we eat?”

“Alrighty, so you got this thing called food. And food comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes and textures and colors. For now we're gonna try a food called bits. I talked to one of them Crystal Gems and they said they'd highly recommend them, one of the best foods you can get around this place. I haven't had 'em myself yet, so I thought we'd dive into them together?”

“I do like swimming, so I'm sure this will be a good experience as you said.”

Spinel was about to object, but she shrugged. Another day they'll have to go over expressions and idioms. At least Spinel was feeling more calm; she just kept telling herself to treat it like all the other times she and Pink Pearl had been alone and doing stuff together.

They waited in line in front of the Citywalk Fries. A few minutes passed and then they were next in line.

“So how do we acquire the food?” Pink Pearl asked.

“Don'tcha worry, toots, I got this.” Spinel cleared her throat and then softly banged her fists on the counter. “The bits! The bits! The bits! C'mon, join me.”

Peedee sighed. “I don't know who-”

“The bits!” Pink Pearl slammed her fists in tandem with Spinel. “The bits! The bits!”

“Alright, alright! I'll get you the bits. Just stop yelling.”

Spinel turned and grinned at Pink Pearl, satisfied with her accomplishment of successful interaction with the human. It worked just as Amethyst said it would.

“That was splendid!” Pink Pearl clapped her hands together. “Eating is fun.”

“Oh ho ho ho, just you wait. It'll be even _better_ when we get the food. That's when the fun phase begins.”

Peedee returned about a minute later and handed each of them a small bag. “Here are the bits. And tell Steven to knock it off with the bits.”

“Yeah, sure thing,” Spinel said. She didn't know what exactly what he meant, but she assumed he wanted her to give Steven some bits and hit something with them. She put a couple into one of her pockets before walking off with Pink Pearl.

“So now I can eat them, right?” Pink Pearl opened her bag and reached inside.

“Sure can.” Spinel opened her bag and plucked a few out. She stuffed a few into her mouth. Pink Pearl did the same, bringing a few to her mouth and shoving them inside.

“Mrgho mhis I mike!”

“Oh, sweetie,” Spinel began.” When you're eating you wanna wait 'til your mouth is empty to talk again. Ya can't really be understood with a full mouth, and it's considered impolite.”

“Oh, stars!” Pink Pearl said after swallowing. “Forgive me, I didn't mean to.”

Spinel stretched out a finger and tapped Pink Pearl on the nose. “Don't sweat it, toots. You ain't never gonna offend me.”

Pink Pearl smiled. “I appreciate it.”

They stood and ate a few more of the bits, when Spinel suddenly gasped.

“What is it?”

“I remembered something. Sometimes on dates, people will feed each other. It's supposed to show off that you're a romantic. You wanna try it?”

“That sounds like fun. Do you put the food down my throat for me?”

Spinel shook her head. “No, no. I just put it gently into your mouth for ya. Here, like this.”

Spinel took out a bit and held it in front of Pink Pearl. She opened her mouth and Spinel put it on her tongue. “See, now you eat it like you normally would.”

Pink Pearl ate it and laughed. “It seems rather silly... but I like it!”

Spinel beamed. “Do me next!”

Pink Pearl grabbed a bit and put it into Spinel's mouth. Suddenly, Spinel got an idea.

“Hey, try this one on for size.” Spinel picked up a bit, tossed it high into the air, and used her powers to stretch her tongue. She grabbed it a few feet into the air and brought it back into her mouth. Pink Pearl clapped and cheered.

“Okay, but that was too easy. Try it like this.” Pink Pearl plucked a few bits and began to juggle them.

But they were so flimsy that as soon as they were thrown into her other hand, they broke apart and fell onto the ground. Pink Pearl looked down at them and frowned. “Oh, I guess that doesn't work like I thought it would.”

Without missing a beat, Spinel sprung into action. She stretched her head to the ground and grabbed the fallen bits with her teeth. She brought her head back to its normal spot and gave a toothy grin at Pink Pearl, displaying the bits between her teeth.

“Eh? Still got them,” Spinel said.

Pink Pearl pushed Spinel lightly. “You're too much.”

The two of them finished eating and continued down the board walk. The sun was slowly crawling near the horizon when Spinel stopped and pointed towards another building.

“Oooh, what's this?” Pink Pearl asked.

“This here? Why, my sweet Pink, this is the arcade. The greatest technicians of Earth have perfected an art known as video games. Arcades are where ya go if you want to play them. And I just so happen to have these nifty tokens that will grant us access to them.”

Pink Pearl's eyes widened with amazement. “Show me the video games.”

Spinel grabbed Pink Pearl's hand and led her inside. The first one they went to was Teens of Rage. Spinel gestured towards it as she explained the game.

“See, we'll each pick one of these characters to play as, and use this control panel to control their actions. We'll move around and beat up the baddies to get to the next level. We get to work together, so it'll be a blast!”

“It sounds like fun!”

Spinel slid the tokens into the machine and the game fired up. Spinel wasn't too sure how well the two of them were doing, since she never played any of the games herself. She only knew what Steven had told her. But she kept an eye on Pink Pearl's face, who seemed utterly enamored with the screen. Spinel couldn't help but smile from seeing the happiness on Pink Pearl's face.

After a few moments, after both their characters had lost all their health, words flashed on the screen. “GAME OVER”.

“Is it over already?”

“Huh. I guess it is.” Spinel shrugged. “I think these games tell you when you have to stop playing.”

“That doesn't seem very nice of them,” Pink Pearl began. “I think it would be better if they merely _suggested_ you stopped playing them.

“Wait!” Spinel snapped her fingers. “I got it. The machine ends the game for you so that you can go and play the other ones! That way you don't spend all your time on only one of them, and can experience everything else that the arcade has to offer.”

“That makes sense,” Pink Pearl responded. “I must rescind my previous statement, then. The video game technicians included a very useful feature to their creations.”

Spinel crossed her arms and nodded. “Very brilliant of them, if I do say so myself. Shall we find another video game, then?”

“Yes!”

And then the two gems went from game to game. Meat Beat Mania, Chrono Panic 4, Turbo Race, they spent some time on each. And they played each one until the “GAME OVER” screen appeared, signaling them that it was time to move on to the next game. Spinel enjoyed Whacker Man the most – her stretching ability allowed her to smack the moles with ease. Pink Pearl found Battlefrog interesting, particularly because the frogs had long tongues and it reminded her of Spinel eating the bits earlier.

By the time they had tried every game and left, the sun was sinking below the waves of the horizon. Spinel and Pink Pearl wandered out onto the beach and plopped down in the sand. They sat close, their shoulders brushing up against each other.

“You don't see a view like this on Homeworld,” Pink Pearl said.

“Yeah. Ya sure don't. Still can't believe I once tried to kill this planet.”

“Things like that happen.”

“I don't think they...” Spinel trailed off. “Well, that doesn't matter now. I'm just glad I'm here now.”

“Me too. Today was a lot of fun. This was also my first time on Earth, you know.”

“Really?” Spinel asked. “Well, I'm glad it was good.”

Pink Pearl put her hand on top of Spinel's and rubbed her thumb along it. “It was a hundred times better because of you.”

Spinel blushed and looked away. When she looked back at Pink Pearl after a few seconds, she saw that she was blushing too.

“So it was a good first date?” Spinel asked.

Pink Pearl nodded. “I hope I never forget this day.”

“Me too, darling.” Spinel leaned in towards Pink Pearl. She leaned herself closer in turn, and they shared a tender kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> They just kinda...ended up being two huge dumbasses as I was writing it and I decided to go with it.


End file.
